Ghost Hunt Locations - 2018

Cambridgeshire - Devon - Dorset - Essex - Hampshire - Kent - London - Oxfordshire - Suffolk - Sussex - Ghost hunting nights, ghost hunts, ghost tours, ghost evenings and ghost weekends. We organise ghost hunting events for indoor and outdoor locations and are based in the South East of England and travel all over the United Kingdom (UK) and into Europe to hold private and public ghost hunting nights.

The next event:

Charlton House · London

Charlton House in Greenwich, London was built between 1607 and 1612 by Sir Adam Newton, Charlton House is one of the finest examples of Jacobean domestic architecture in the country.

The house and grounds were used as a hospital for officers during World War I and were bought by the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich in 1925. The North (Chapel) Wing was bombed during the Blitz of the Second World War and was subsequently rebuilt albeit with non-matching bricks such as were available in the immediate post-war period.

The next event:

Colchester Town Hall · Colchester, Essex

Colchester Town Hall was built from 1898 and the building was opened by Prime Minister Lord Rosebery in May 1902.

The Town Hall Architect John Belcher extensively used sculptures and artworks throughout the building. The spectacular Italian marble staircase dominates the hall. The entrance alone offers an inviting reception for all types of occasions and there are outstanding function rooms still used for their original purpose.

Colchester Town Hall has stood on the same site since the 12th century. The 162-foot clock tower was presented by James Paxman; it is topped by a figure of St Helena, patron Saint of the City.

As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder, who died in AD 79.

Staff at the Town Hall have heard doors slam in the basements (these used to be holding cells) and the Security staff have heard loud footsteps and seeing a little girl running on the first floor when they have been locking up.

This location is available to book for private group events (5-20 people) - price depending on people - see Private Group Ghost Hunts

D Day Tunnels · Portsmouth, Hampshire

The D Day Tunnels (Underground World War Two Command Centre) in Portsmouth, Hampshire has about 1.5 miles of linked tunnels directly beneath Fort Southwick and they were excavated by the Royal Engineers in 1942. These tunnels provided a bombproof, comprehensive Operation Control Centre.

The tunnels housed approximately 700 staff working on the Combined Operations Headquarters and the co-ordination of various military operations including the now famous "Operation Overlord" the codename for the D-Day Normandy Landings by Allied troops during the Second World War.

Reports from radar stations were crossed-referenced with messages from shipping to provide an accurate picture of what was happening in the English Channel. This information was then plotted on a large table map in the map room of the tunnel. Some of the functions of this Underground Command Centre were duplicated at the Bunker underneath Dover Castle.

After the war the tunnels ceased operations in 1949 then reopened again by the Royal Navy during the 1956 Suez Crisis when it was refurbished, they were used again in the early 1960s during the Cold War as the Defence Teleprinter Network of the NATO Communication Organisation and as a Communications Centre "COMMCEN" for the Royal Navy. During this time the Soviet Union identified Fort Southwick as a "Category A" target and consequently it was a main target for the Russians. The Command Centre Bunker remained in use right up until 1974.

During the history of the tunnels, deaths have been reported at this secret and important location. Many of the tunnel linings have been removed over the years exposing the original chalk walls, which gives the tunnels its eerie sensations.

The existence of the D Day Tunnels (Underground Second World War Command Centre) and its D-Day and Cold War connections was a closely guarded secret. The entrance to these tunnels are very uninteresting and unimposing.

Distant chilling screams are often heard as well as Spirit voices and strange aromas smelt in various parts of the tunnels.

The next event:

Epping Forest Museum · Waltham Abbey, Essex

Epping Forest District Museum is housed in an original Tudor House on the main high street in Waltham Abbey, Essex. Waltham Abbey is one of those towns whose history is interwoven with that of its most important building, the Abbey itself.

The early settlement at Waltham (a forest homestead) was made by men who sailed up the River Lea from the Thames Estuary and built their huts as far as they dared venture from the main stream; twelve and a half miles was a long distance in Saxon times.

Whilst there isn't any history of who lived in this particular Tudor House, we know from the workmanship of the doorways and fireplaces that it was someone who had money, possibly a merchant.

Whilst workmen were working on the recent Museum upgrades they often felt something in a particular room, as tools and other items would go missing or be moved. They dubbed this room the 'haunted room'.

The next event:

Fort Amherst · Chatham, Kent

Fort Amherst in Chatham, Kent was built to protect Chatham Dockyard after the invasion by the Dutch in 1667 which raided the River Medway and attacked Chatham's Royal Dockyard.

In 1708 plans were beginning to be drawn up to construct a fortification to protect the Royal Dockyard from a land based attack.
In 1714 land was bought for the construction of the fortifications but work did not start until 1755.
Part of the site chosen included a chalk pit with a number of caves. These caves were extended between 1776 and 1805 to provide an underground labyrinth of tunnels, protected underground gun positions and protection in the event of a siege. The tunnels contain many interesting and important features including a well, privies, loopholed defences, cannon positions and defendable gateways.
To ensure the protection of the Dockyard, three defendable gateways were constructed to control and defend access into the area protected by the Chatham Lines.

In 1820 the defences were declared obsolete due to better artillery equipment with a greater firing range. The whole of the fortifications were used as a training ground during the Victorian period, the practice sieges were so popular that thousands of people came to Chatham to watch them.

During WWII the tunnels were utilised by the Anti-Invasion Planning Unit and Civil Defence, who used a section as their headquarters. This is where Civil Defence was co-ordinated for the North Kent area in the event of bombing as well as support and assistance to the general public after such an incident. A section of the tunnels has been reconstructed into the Civil Defence HQ as it was in 1939.

The next event:

Fort Burgoyne · Dover, Kent

Fort Burgoyne in Dover, Kent was originally known as Castle Hill Fort. Work started in 1861 and it was complete in 1868 as one of the Palmerston forts surrounding the South of England.

It was built to a polygonal system with detached eastern and western redoubts with a surrounding ditch, flanked by three demi-caponniers and a double caponnier to the North. Two detached wing batteries to the East and West of the main fort were also constructed in spurs off the main ditch. The main fort comprised a large parade ground, to the North of which was a long row of casemates, which provided the barrack accommodation for soldiers and officers. Above the casemates, on the terreplein, were Haxo Casemates, which housed the guns.
This was to guard the high ground northeast of the strategic port of Dover, just north of Dover Castle.

The fort is named after the 19th century General John Fox Burgoyne.

After the First World War Fort Burgoyne was used as military depot or store for Connaught Barracks. Until recently the central part of the fort was still owned by the Ministry of Defence, forming part of the Connaught Barracks site.

There were two mysterious deaths in February 1887, two men died for no known reason.

The next event:

Harwich Redoubt Fort · Harwich, Essex

Harwich Redoubt Fort in Harwich, Essex was constructed between 1808 and 1810 to protect the port of Harwich against the threat of Napoleonic invasion. The fort was constructed on a hill, which allowed views in all directions.

French prisoners of war were made to help construct the fort. The fort has a central parade ground. It was originally armed with ten 24 pounder cannons. In 1861 a 68 pounder cannon was added to the fort's weapon range.

Later in 1903 three 12 pounder QF guns were added to the fort. Despite the ongoing modernisation no shot was fired in force. In the 1920s the redoubt was falling into disrepair. The fort was briefly used during the Second World War to house British troops awaiting trial. Restoration started in 1969 and still continues today.

Ghostly Activity
Witnesses have reportedly seen apparitions through the windows and heard unexplained footsteps. Many visitors to the fort have also reported being touched by unseen hands in the lower casements. There have also been many other mysterious noises and apparitions seen by visitors.

The fort is well known for the apparition of a headless soldier. In 1972 a soldier was decapitated by a cable attached to a 12 ton cannon which broke under the strain. It is rumoured that this soldier now roams the fort.

The next event:

Landguard Fort · Felixstowe, Suffolk

Landguard Fort was built just outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, at the mouth of the River Orwell, Landguard Fort was designed to guard the entrance to Harwich. The first fortifications from 1540 were a few earthworks and blockhouse, but it was James I of England who ordered the construction of a square fort with bulwarks at each corner.

In 1667 the Dutch landed a force of 1500 men on Felixstowe beach and advanced on the fort, but were repulsed by a garrison of 400 musketeers of the Duke of York & Albany's Maritime Regiment (the first English Marines) and 100 artillerymen with 54 cannon. The fort was considered part of Essex in the 18th and 19th centuries; births and deaths within the garrison were recorded as 'Landguard Fort, Essex'.

A new Fort battery was built in 1717, and a complete new fort on an adjoining site was started in 1745 to a pentagonal bastioned trace. New batteries were built in the 1750s and 1780, but the biggest change was in the 1870s where the interior barracks were rebuilt to a keep-like design, the river frontage was rebuilt with a new casemated battery covered by a very unusual caponier with a quarter sphere bomb proof nose. Several open bastions were enclosed, and a mock ravelin block constructed to house a submarine mining contingent.

During the Second World War, it was used as one of the balloon launch sites of Operation Outward. This was a project to attack Germany by means of free-flying hydrogen balloons that carried incendiary devices or trailing steel wires (intended to damage power lines.)

The 10inch gun pit in Left Battery was converted into a Anti-aircraft Operations Room for Harwich in 1939. Visitors as well as local people, have their own experiences of paranormal activity in or around the Fort. The most common being the image of a sailor looking out of the top right window (the side visible from the road). Most reportings were in the 1990s, but occasionally there are still reports of lights at night and being "pushed" whilst visiting the top floors.

The next event:

Newhaven Fort · Newhaven, East Sussex

Newhaven Fort is a Palmerston fort built in the 19th century to defend the harbour at Newhaven, on the south coast of England. It was the largest defence work ever built in Sussex

Building work commenced in 1864, with a workforce of 250 men and three steam engines. Work was completed in the summer of 1871 and the guns were emplaced in 1873.

The fort was originally armed on the eastern side in the 1870s with two 9-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns on Moncrieff disappearing carriages, the only such arrangement in the UK. From about 1906 the armament consisted of two modern 6-inch Mark VII breechloading naval guns, and two modern light QF 12-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats.

The main 6-inch Mark VII guns were replaced in 1941 by a battery of BL 6-inch Mk 24 coastal guns (a modern coast defence version of the Mark VII built during World War II), which were located west of the fort.

The army vacated the fort in 1962. Restoration began in 1982 following a failed commercial redevelopment venture, and 6-inch Mk VII guns have been re-installed in the fort to approximate the 1906 - 1941 armament.

There are numerous reports from visitors to the Fort, when walking into the main tunnels, or the caponier, of being pushed and seeing dark figures slipping into the shadows. Other reports include sounds and smells, people have reported the noises of chains clinking. Some believe it is the ghost of a woman called Martha who committed suicide at the fort. Other occurrences happen in the magazines and laboratory.

The forts numerous exhibitions are also a hot bed of activity. People have reported hearing the sounds of soldiers boots, footsteps and shuffling, moans of suffering have also been heard and reported on numerous occasions.

The next event:

Nothe Fort · Weymouth, Dorset

Nothe Fort in Weymouth, Dorset is situated on the shore beside the northern breakwater of the ex-military Portland Harbour, and at the mouth of civilian Weymouth Harbour. Nothe Fort was built in 1872 to protect Portland's harbour, which was then becoming an important Royal Navy base. The fort played an important role in World War II, when the harbour was used as base by the British and American Navy.

In 1956, the fort was abandoned, and in 1961 it was purchased by the local council. It is now a museum and tourist attraction, featuring models, World War II memorabilia as well as original cannons and guns and British and American WWII vehicles.

Nothe Fort has always had a legendary ghostly whistling gunner and many people claim to have heard his eerie whistling in the Fort's extensive underground passageways. Tales of this phantom have been talked about for decades around Weymouth and the Fort affectionately has a passageway dedicated to him. Who this 'shade' actually is, is at this time, unknown.

A survey carried out in 2007 by The National Lottery discovered that the Fort was voted one of the spookiest locations in the UK; in fact staff members sometimes refuse to visit certain areas by themselves.

The next event:

Old Forde House · Newton Abbot, Devon

Old Forde House in Newton Abbot, Devon has provided hospitality for kings, queens, princes, princesses and numerous lords and ladies since the reign of Elizabeth I.

Although there has been a house on this site since 1539, the present house bears the date 1610 and is built in the shape of the letter E. Commonly thought to be in honour of Queen Elizabeth I

King Charles I visited Forde House in 1625, the year of his accession to the throne, on his way to Plymouth to inspect the fleet. In 1646 (Civil War) Sir Thomas Fairfax, accompanied by his lieutenant-general, Oliver Cromwell, stayed at Forde House on their way to capture Dartmouth.

It was in the year 1688 that William, Prince of Orange sailed from the Hague and landed at Brixham to lead his army to the capital. Two days after his arrival the Prince reached Newton Abbot. Prince William proceeded to Forde House. Prince William stayed overnight at Forde House in the first floor room known ever since as the Orange Room.

This house is steeped in history, will we have any communication from those who have passed through this house on their way to battle?

The next event:

Oxford Castle · Oxford, Oxfordshire

Oxford Castle has history dating back nearly one thousand years.

This is your opportunity to experience the confines of the 18th-century Debtors Tower, long corridors of cells of the Prison D-wing, the dark 900 year old underground Crypt and the Well Chamber deep in the mound of the Castle Hill.

There have been many reports of ghostly activity at Oxford Castle including; The Murderer Mary Blandy from 1752 walking the Castle Mound, a strange white mist has been witnessed rising up a flight of stairs only to dissappear in front of witnesses, ghostly footsteps have been heard along the Prison Wing corridor and loud thumping sounds from within the Padded Cell, plus many people have experienced the feeling of being watched and followed.

We will have exclusive access to Oxford Castle and all its haunted areas; the crypt, D Wing of the prison, the first two floors of the Debtors Tower, the hidden well chamber in the castle mound and the punishment cells in the exercise yard.

The next event:

Pilgrims Way woods · nr Maidstone, Kent

The Pilgrims Way in Kent is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name is somewhat misleading, as the route follows closely a pre-existing ancient trackway dated by archaeological finds to 500-450 BC, but probably in existence since the stone age, following the 'natural causeway' east to west on the southern slopes of the North Downs.

This woodland is just off the Pilgrims Way road (which in recent times has been closed to traffic) and is near Maidstone.

A horse-drawn coach is said to haunt this road, its occupants unseen and unknown.

On inspection of Pilgrims Way wood, all those present felt weird sensations and a disorientating feeling, the trees seemed to be watching!

The next event:

Red Lion Hotel · Colchester, Essex

The Brook Red Lion Hotel in Colchester, Essex is a historical Grade I listed building dating back to 1465. Located in the busy town centre of Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, The Brook Red Lion Hotel in Colchester is one of the oldest inns in the area.

The Parliament Restaurant at the Red Lion Hotel was once the old Banqueting Hall, still showing its timbered beams.

There are three known ghosts - a small boy that can be seen in the Parliament restaurant occassionally and has appeared in a guest's photograph, a ghostly monk that hangs around in reception, but the most active is Alice Millar.
Alice was a chambermaid at the hotel and was killed by a lover.
Alice has regularly been heard whispering and even talking to staff. There are recent accounts of people's hair being pulled and a womans voice appearing on a video taken in one of the rooms, with no obvious cause.

The original rooms still have their original wattle and daub beams. They are also, obviously, the most haunted.

Royal Gunpowder Mills · Waltham Abbey, Essex

The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, Essex was one of three Royal Gunpowder Mills in the United Kingdom (the other mills were at Ballincollig and Faversham) but is the only site to have survived virtually intact.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, were in operation for over 300 years; however, from the mid-1850s onwards the site was involved in developing new nitro-based explosives and propellants.

Shortly after World War II it became solely a Defence Research Establishment - firstly the Explosives Research and Development Establishment, then the Propellants, Explosives and Rocket Motor Establishment Waltham Abbey; and finally the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Waltham Abbey. Its superior production methods and high quality results earned it a reputation on an international level.

Throughout the First World War the number of workers exceeded 6000, mostly local and female workers. After World War I production continued and crucial development work was carried out on TNT production and on the new explosive RDX.

During World War II, Waltham Abbey remained an important cordite production unit and for the first two years of the war was the sole producer of RDX. RDX is one component of torpex, the explosive that was used in the Bouncing Bomb.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills finally closed on 28 July 1945.

In 1945 the establishment re-opened as a research centre known as The Explosives Research and Development Establishment, or ERDE. In 1977 it became the Propellants, Explosives and Rocket Motor Establishment, Waltham Abbey, or PERME Waltham Abbey.

In 1984 the South site and the Lower Island works were handed over to Royal Ordnance Plc immediately prior to its privatisation. The North side however remained in Ministry of Defence control as a research centre; becoming part of the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment.

After various reorganisations of Governmental research, the research centre finally closed in 1991, bringing to an end 300 years of explosives production and research.

The next event:

The Guildhall · Sandwich, Kent

The Guildhall Museum in Sandwich, Kent was built in 1579. Work in 1812 encased the building in yellow brick, this was removed 100 years later in 1912, when the south-west wing was also added

The security staff at this building have reported the sounds of footsteps in the halls, a feeling of being watched as they lock up and the old staircase has a surprise for the casual visitor! Hold on to the handrail...

The next event:

Theatre Royal · Margate, Kent

The Theatre Royal, Margate, Kent is the oldest theatre in Kent and the second oldest theatre in England. The Theatre Royal was built in 1787, burned down in 1829 and was remodelled in 1879. The exterior is largely from the l9th century and has remained relatively untouched.

From 1885 to 1899 actor-manager Sarah Thorne ran a school for acting at the Theatre Royal which is widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school. Actors who received their initial theatrical training there include Harley Granville-Barker, Evelyn Millard, Louis Calvert, George Thorne, Janet Achurch, Adelaide Neilson and Irene and Violet Vanbrugh, among others.

According to local reports, hauntings began in 1918 when the ghost of Sarah Thorne (an actress) was seen. There is one particular area where paranormal activity is higher; a trapdoor which leads to what was a smugglers cave. Paranormal activity has been reported on the stage and backstage and it is known that one of the boxes is haunted as a man jumped from the box to his death during a performance.

Another ghost, that of an actor who committed suicide, is held responsible for creating strange lights that float around the stage area.

The next event:

Vinters Park · Maidstone, Kent

Vinters Valley Nature Reserve in Maidstone, Kent has had a very intersting history and a house has stood on this land for 600 years.

Roman remains have been found on the site in the past, but the first recorded history was when a Roger de Vinter bought the land from the Abbott of Boxley in 1343, and built the first house.

In 1554 Henry Isley, took part in the Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger's Rebellion and was executed for his trouble. His property was seized by Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) who bequeathed it to a Henry Cutts of Bynbury.

Vinters house was bought by a local businessman, James Whatman of Vinters. Although he didn't ever live in Vinters his son did. James Whatman of Vinters moved into the house in 1782, having bought it some time previously from the then Lord Ongley. He died in 1798 aged 57, and like many Whatmans was buried at Boxley Church.

During the Second World War the house was taken over for Military purposes and many Army units passed through the park. The fine furniture and effects were locked away. The ATS girls stayed in the house, with the men in billets near the kitchen garden. Having been empty for a few years the entire estate comprising of 660 acres was sold to a property developer in 1956. Shortly after this the house burnt down, and was demolished.